RETIREDThe Darkest of Nights
by The Long Name Ending In Cookie
Summary: I am Claire. I am also PinkScyther. With the help of my friends I am finally able to morph into PinkScyther without having to be in a universe compatible with real Pokémon.


21st Century Vulpix presents

DARKEST OF NIGHTS

By PinkScyther

DISCLAIMER:  I do not own the characters (apart from the various me's), places, things etc.  I do own the twisted mind that came up with this though.

I woke up at about 7:30 this morning, played the GameBoy for a while, then got bored.  And suddenly the strangest (and scariest) of story ideas came to me.

I am Claire.  I am also PinkScyther.  With the help of my friends I am finally able to morph into PinkScyther without having to be in a universe compatible with real Pokémon.

But something is wrong.  PinkScyther gets into going out during the night.  And all around the town, a soulless, bloodthirsty killer is hunting increasingly large prey...

Started: 3/4/02

"Tonight on the ABC news, John Howard announces his revised GST.  Also..."

The newsreader waffled on.  Claire sat on the couch in front of the TV, not listening.  Her four sisters were fighting in the bathroom, each wanting to be first in the shower.  Her father was at the gym and her mother was in the kitchen, slicing vegetables for dinner.

The sound of the knife was slight, but each time Claire heard it she would shudder inexplicably.  She sat, hugging her knees, staring miserably through the window at the pouring rain outside.

"Thankyou John," said the newsreader.  "In local news, there have been many reports of pets killed.  Over twenty animals have been found, all with the same strange and unexplainable wounds."

Claire jolted upright and stared at the TV screen.  There was a shot of a reporter standing outside a house that Claire recognised.  She passed it on the way to school in the morning and afternoon.

"It is not a pretty sight," the reporter was saying.  "This is the twenty-sixth report of dead pets."  On the screen the camera angle changed to show a cat that had been horribly mutilated, with huge long gash wounds and dried blood in it's fur.  It's head had been sliced clean off.  Claire felt sick.

"This animal was found in the morning after it had been left out at night.  Just like the other twenty-five, it looks as if somebody has attacked them with a knife..."  The reporter continued but Claire was too shocked to listen.  Twenty-six already?  When would this nightmare end?

"Pet owners are advised to keep a close eye on pets, or keep them inside at night."

The phone rang.  "Answer that, would you please Claire?" called her mother from the kitchen.

"I've got it," she replied.  Claire got up and went to the hall to pick up the phone.  "Hello?"

"Hi Claire.  It's Ann."

"Hey, what's up?" Claire asked half-heartedly.  Ann sounded upset.  "Something wrong?"

"I was just watching the news.  Did you see the thing about all those poor pets?" she replied.

"Yeah...  it's awful," said Claire, her voice cracking as she tried not to cry.

"I'm worried about Anna and Kit," said Ann.  Anna and Kit were her cats.

"I don't think their in too much danger.  The attacks have only been happening in Morwell."

"I know, but that's not far away from Moe.  What if they don't find out who's attacking those animals?  They might never stop."

"Who is it?" asked Claire's mother from the kitchen.

Claire covered the mouthpiece.  "It's Ann."

"Don't be too long," said her mother and resumed chopping vegetables.  Claire started to shudder again.

"I noticed something they didn't say on the news reports," said Ann.

"What's that?" asked Claire apprehensively.

"Well, the first few pets that were killed were pretty small, you know, like kittens or birds.  But now whoever it is is attacking bigger animals, like dogs and cats."

A horrible thought occured to Claire.  What if dogs and cats became too small?  People could be attacked next.  Claire hoped that Ann wouldn't think that as well, but Ann read her mind.  After all, she was psychic.

"Do you think that this killer could try attacking humans?"

"You're the psychic, you should know what I think."

"Ha ha.  Listen," Ann dropped her voice.  "Why don't we do something?"

"What do you mean?" asked Claire, again apprehensive.

"You know, now that we got you to be able to morph!  Nobody could attack a Scyther like that, could they?"

"I know, but..." Claire's heart sank.  Panicking she tried desperately to find an excuse.  "But then what?  If I attacked them I could kill them!"

"So?  He's been killing pets, he deserves to die!"

"But, but then we'd drag ourselves down to his level..."

"Well you don't have to _kill him, just stop him attacking.  You're strong enough to do that.  Then we can get the police or something."_

"Wouldn't that mean the police would see me?"  They had agreed that nobody was allowed to see Claire morphed except those who knew about it.

"No, you could just knock him out and then we could tie him up!  Duh."

"Oh and what would we say, 'Hi there police guys, we caught the pet killer all on our own!'  Do you realise how unbelievable that would be?"

"Oh who cares, the point is we got him!  What's wrong with you Claire?  You have the power to catch a murderer and you don't want to!"

"I just don't think it's going to be that easy.  Listen, we can talk about this another time, I've gotta go."

"Alright," sighed Ann.  "I'm going to tell Squirtel my idea, okay?"

"Oh-kay," sighed Claire reluctantly.  "Bye."

"Bye."  Claire hung up.

"What did Ann want?" asked her mother. 

"She was upset about how all those people's pets were being attacked."

Claire went back to the couch and put her face in her hands.  Oh, she knew how to stop the killer alright.  But she just wasn't strong enough.

***

Later that night, when everyone was asleep, Claire woke suddenly from her fitful sleep.  She sat up with a feeling of apprehension.  

"No, don't do it!"

There was nobody in the room. 

"You can't do this!"  Claire looked wild, her eyes wide and staring.  "Why can't you just stay here and sleep?"  The moonlight seeping through a crack in the blinds played across her face eerily.

Claire began to toss and turn uncontrollably, as if half of her wanted to lie down but the other half wanted to get up.  By now she had tears in her eyes.

"Why?  Why are you doing this?!" she cried.  And then her body went stiff.  She stared straight ahead with the tears running down her face.  

Slowly, she changed shape.  Her fingers grew together, her arms turning flat.  Her face grew outwards and became pointed.  Her posture changed so she was leaning forwards.  Her legs shortened and her feet grew larger.  A set of wings burst from her back.  Claire had become a Scyther.

She leapt off the bed and landed gently on the floor, making no sound on the carpet.  She lifted the blind, and light from the moon and stars washed over her, revealing that she was not green, but fluorescent pink.

PinkScyther levered the window open with one of her blades and carefully lifted the flywire.  There was a hairline slit that ran around the edge of it, allowing her to lift the flywire up and slip under it.  She dropped it and it landed back in place, the fact that it was hardly attached to the window barely noticeable.

PinkScyther looked around the backyard.  Normally she would take off straight away, flying high and stretching her wings before looking for prey.  But tonight she turned around slowly and sniffed the air.  She knew that Claire's family had a cat.  It was around here somewhere.

In a corner of PinkScyther's mind, Claire was sobbing and screaming.  "Please, don't hurt Wally!  Don't hurt our cat!  Go back inside!  Go inside!"

PinkScyther ignored her.  The cat had been on the fence about an hour ago, her nose told her.  It had left, gone down the street somewhere.  She turned again, testing the direction of the wind.

"DON'T HURT WALLY, PLEASE DON'T!!!" screamed the voice inside her head.  PinkScyther ignored her.  But she considered her next move.  Should she go after the cat?  No, it was much to small.  Cats were too easy.  They were no match for her.  She wanted something harder.  PinkScyther leapt into the air, kicking off strongly against the ground, and flew.  The exhilerating rush she felt as she cut through the night air, which whipped wildly across her body and was tamed by her wings, gave her more energy.  Her piercing eyes glinted in the moonlight.  PinkScyther's eyes were not blue anymore.  Since she had been able to come out in the all-human world, they had always been plain black.  They were like empty, soulless windows, showing the same blackness as her heart.

The night was hers.  It was for hunting, for killing, for the taste of blood, and the smell of death.

On the ground below her was a large house with an even bigger backyard.  PinkScyther knew that in big backyards there are often big animals.  She flew a little closer, coming downwind, and tested the air.  Yes, there was something here.  She smelled dog.

Carefully she alighted in the branches of a tree.  She looked down into the yard.  Lying on the steps of a big weatherboard house was a very large and muscular dog.  A bull-mastiff.

An evil, humorless smile crept across PinkScyther's face.  Her fangs bared, she flew out of the tree silently and landed noiselessly in front of the dog.  A swift kick from her and the dog woke suddenly, yelping and barking.  The claws on her toes had torn three long gashes in the dog's side.

The dog began barking loudly but she wasn't worried.  This would be over too soon for anyone to see her.  The dog kept up the barking but he was bluffing.  PinkScyther could tell.  She could smell the fear and it nearly drove her crazy.  But her love of a chase overcame it and faster than the eye could see she lashed out, slashing a huge gash down the poor dog's back.  It howled in pain and tried to attack her.  PinkScyther moved back a few steps and it chased her, but she kept herself only a step away the whole time.  Adrenaline surged through her and she became more daring, executing a series of moves around, above and even below the the dog.  It went crazy at this display but the blood it had lost already and the pain in his side slowed the dog down.  PinkScyther knew that there was no more fun to be had out of the dog, so she settled matters quickly with a single swipe.  The dog's head lay on the ground a few feet from it's body.  PinkScyther grabbed one of the legs and, holding the rest of the carcass down with her foot, simply tore it off.  By then people were awake on all sides and she flew high into the air.

A man came running down the steps where his dog had been sleeping.  He thought he had a glimpse of a dark shape that whisked through the air, but he put it out of his mind and rushed down to the dark shape on his lawn.

He put out his hand and touched it.  He could feel stiff fur and warm, sticky blood.  Heart racing, he clicked on the torch he was holding and shone it on the dog.

He staggerd backwards in shock, dropping the torch.  Then he let out a single scream and fainted.

***

PinkScyther sat in the tree and enjoyed the leg, again holding it down with her foot as she ripped off ragged chunks of flesh with her sharp incisors.  Blood dripped onto the ground below.

When she had only the bone left, she contemplated it momentarily, then took a bite, letting the rest fall to the ground.  She ate it thoughtfully and pondered her next move.

Killing the dog had been fun.  She liked killing.  She did not hunt just for food.  She hunted for fun.  PinkScyther cleaned herself and ran the edge of her blades down her fangs.  This sharpened both her teeth and blades.

It was still dark.  There were a few hours until sunrise left.  Trapped inside a corner of her mind, Claire was in shock.  PinkScyther was the pet killer.  She had started about three weeks ago.  Claire had not been able to do anything about it.

She was trapped in PinkScyther's mind because she and PinkScyther were both seperate individuals, but a strange glitch in the fabric of the universe and time and space had somehow linked their lives into one.  

To understand this, imagine that life is a video game and every individual has their own save slot.  PinkScyther and Claire were from different worlds but were stuck in the same save slot.  Only one of them could play at once, so the other was trapped in the back of the "playing" one's mind.  The only way to bring the other one out was for them to "morph".  For years now PinkScyther had been taking the back seat.  Claire couldn't morph because PinkScyther was a Pokémon, and Pokémon can't exist in this all-human world.  Once or twice, Ann had been able to take Claire to the Pokémon world using her psychic powers, but all those times when PinkScyther came out she had been a co-operative and friendly Scyther... to her friends at least.  

But now... PinkScyther was out of control.  She was acting way out of character.  She was a soulless, bloodthirsty killer.  Claire couldn't control her, couldn't force her to morph back.  And now she had gotten stronger, forcing Claire to morph at night so that she could go on a killing frenzy.  Claire wished that her friends hadn't figured a way to make her able to morph in this world.

However her wishing was interrupted because at that moment, PinkScyther jumped off the branch and flew off again.  She flew aimlessly, looking for another unwary target.

There must be something more difficult than cats and dogs.  It's still not hard enough.  Where's the danger?  Where's the risk?  Where's the _challenge?  I need larger animals!_

Then the idea struck her.  Just outside of Morwell were a few farms.  There would be large animals there: cows, horses...  The evil grin once again crossed her face and PinkScyther changed direction.

***

Ann sat at her computer.  It was only 5:30am, but she often got up early so that she could talk to Squirtel over the internet.

Squirtel The Squirtle was a good friend of Ann's.  She was half Pokémon, half Digimon.  She lived in the Digi World with her husband, Tentomon.  But she and Ann would often talk to each other using messenger services, or sometimes Ann would use her psychic ability of Teleportation to go to the Digital World.

(Ann and Squirtel's chat)

Ann:  Hi Squirtel.

Squirtel:  Hi Ann.

Tentomon:  Hi.

Ann:  How are you guys?

Tentomon:  We're fine.

Squirtel:  How about you?

Ann:  I'm worried.

Squirtel:  What about?

Ann:  Not what, who.  I'm worried about Claire.

Squirtel:  Why?

Tentomon:  Is it about her morphing?  Is something going wrong with it?

Ann:  Sort of...  There have been lots of attacks on peoples' pets lately.

Tentomon:  And this is connected to Claire, how...?

Ann:  Well, the other day I was talking to her about it.  I said that maybe we should do something about it.  I mean, now that she can morph, we can take on just about anyone.  But she didn't want to.  She made up all these excuses about it, then she had to go.

Squirtel:  Hmmm, that's fishy alright.

Tentomon:  Why don't you just talk to her?  There's probably a simple reason.

Ann:  Yeah, I will.

***

PinkScyther smiled the evil smile again as she flew, her jaws clamped tightly around part of a cow's leg.  The blood made a trail through the air and dripped onto the ground.  She landed on another tree to enjoy her prize.  Now, _that had been fun.  She had killed three cows before anyone noticed._

There had been danger.  The cows had just been let out from milking and the farmers were awake.  It only added to the fun.  PinkScyther tore at the still-warm flesh hungrily, her heart beating fast from the adrenaline rush.  She finished the leg and looked around.

The sun was starting to come up.  The first rays of it landed on her face.  PinkScyther cleaned the blood off herself.  Time to return.

Reluctantly she took off, her wings beating strongly and silently in the cool morning air.  She reached Claire's house in no time and slipped back through the open window.  There she landed on the bed and stood stiffly.  She straightened up, her blades shrank back into arms, her legs grew longer, her feet smaller, her face became rounded again, the wings disappeared.  She was Claire again.

Claire rushed to the window and closed it.  She climbed back into her bed and cried quietly.  She felt so hopeless.  For three weeks she had watched PinkScyther grow stronger and hungrier.  Hungry for the taste of death.  In three weeks she had killed thirty animals, including tonight's four.

Claire couldn't think of a way to stop PinkScyther getting out of the house.  She couldn't ask her parents to fix the flywire, because then they would want to know how it had been ripped.  Somehow Claire didn't think they would believe the truth.  They wouldn't believe her if she said she didn't know.  PinkScyther had cut it so cleanly, as was her style, that it looked intentional.  Besides, Claire doubted that fixing it would present much of a problem.  PinkScyther would simply cut it open again.

She couldn't stop herself morphing, though she tried.  PinkScyther was too strong for her.  It was like being a werewolf.  How do werewolves live with themselves? she wondered, sobbing harder.  Claire couldn't bring herself to tell anyone what was happening, not even Ann.  She felt too guilty about it.  What would she think?  Even worse, if she did tell Ann, what if PinkScyther went after her?  It was exactly what PinkScyther _would do.  _

But if she didn't do something soon, PinkScyther could decide that cows weren't big enough.  Not risky enough.  Not _important enough to bother hunting.  What would she do then?  Would she go after humans?  It didn't bear thinking about._

***

That day, Claire tried to act normal, and not think about what would be happening when night came.  She played the Nintendo 64 with her sisters to try and take her mind off it, but her sister insisted on a Pokémon Stadium battle, and chose a Scyther as part of her team.  Claire made an excuse and almost ran out of the room.

At dinner time, she sat at the table, picking at her food.  Claire wasn't hungry, but her parents would immediately know something was wrong if she didn't eat everything she could get her hands on.  She turned her fork over and over in her fingers.  The light glinted off the knife sitting, unused, next to her plate.  Claire shuddered as she watched everyone slicing their fish with their own knives.  Knives reminded her too much of PinkScyther.

When it was time to go to bed, Claire tried to put it off as long as she could.  Tried to distract herself, in the vain hope that PinkScyther would get distracted too and let her sleep through whole night.  Claire read book after book, and played her GameBoy Advance until the batteries ran out.  But all the time, she could feel PinkScyther's presence, growing more and more restless.  Eventually Claire shut off the light and lay back, concentrating with all her might on keeping PinkScyther locked away in the back of her mind.  She was too apprehensive to be tired.  She stared at the ceiling, willing her parents to stay up.  But soon she heard them turn off the TV and the lights.  They would be asleep in a matter of minutes.  She felt PinkScyther stir, and knew that she would make her move very soon.  Claire shut her eyes tightly and concentrated all her strength on remaining the same shape.

She could feel her skin stretching then returning to its original shape, over and over.  Occasionally her face would bulge and then return, or her fingers would web and then seperate again.  Claire tensed herself and kept concentrating, but it was exhausting.  PinkScyther was not truly existing, therefore she couldn't get tired, but Claire was weakening.  She took a deep breath, and in the second in which she relaxed, PinkScyther seized her opportunity.  Claire tried to cry out but she couldn't make a sound.  She changed shape and became PinkScyther once again.

PinkScyther slipped out through the window and flew out into the night.  The adrenaline rush was back.  Hunger burned like a fire in her belly.  It was an insatiable need to hunt, to kill, more, more, more.

She smelled a cat on the ground below her.  She swooped, dropping out of the sky, and killed it with a single slash.  The blood spattered her blades and chest, the smell burning into her nostrils.  _More... so hungry...  more blood!  More death!_

PinkScyther flew on.  She made random attacks on any animal she found.  They only served to fuel the fire burning within.  _More..._

She reached the farm where she had attacked the cows on the previous night.  They were locked away inside a barn, it being night.  PinkScyther searched desperately, for a cow, horse, a sheep even.  _More blood..._

There was nothing.  No living creatures out that night.  Her desperation ever increasing, PinkScyther flew onwards, leaving Morwell entirely.  She searched every farm there was.  Still no animals.  

_More blood... more death... where is my prey?  It is all gone... the humans... the humans did it... they took away my prey... the blood that I crave... the humans have taken it all..._

PinkScyther flew onwards, the fire raging inside her still.  She could still smell the blood on her chest.  It drove her into a frenzy.  She left the farms behind and flew into the town of Moe.

_The prey... it is here..._

A stray dog wandered alone on the street.  PinkScyther let out a crazed cry and swooped, silent and deadly.  Again she slaughtered the dog with one swipe.  Like a shark in a feeding frenzy, she tore at it viciously with her teeth, until only blood-soaked bones remained.  She stood up, grinning that insane grin again.  Blood coated her face and congealed.  Ragged strips of flesh hung from her mouth.  She wiped them off and continued flying around, searching for more victims.

***

In her house, Ann awoke suddenly.  A strange prickling feeling ran down her spine.  Something was very, very wrong.  She had a sudden compulsion to leave the house.  She pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt, and a pair of shoes.  Then she picked up a toy Pikachu.

Pikachu was not truly a toy.  But just like PinkScyther had never been able to enter the human world, he could not enter either unless he converted himself to a stuffed toy.  Ann grabbed him and slipped out through her window.

PinkScyther had reached the park.  She smelt humans.  Looking down at the ground, she saw that there were a couple of teenagers who had obviously sneaked out to smoke.  They were laughing and wallowing in clouds of cigarette smoke.

PinkScyther's evil grin magnified.  Humans... the perfect prey.  And in a group.  Once again, she swooped silently.  They would not have noticed her approach at all, except that when she got close, the beating of her wings blew the smoke away.

The three teenagers turned around, and screamed.  PinkScyther dived among them and made a preliminary swipe to get them running.  They ran.  She gave chase, letting out more crazed cries, toying with them.  The teenagers were nowhere near fast enough to escape, but PinkScyther was used to playing around.  However, tonight the thrill of the chase was not thrilling.  She was impatient to get to the killing.  PinkScyther sped up and slashed all three of them across their backs.  They fell to the ground, screaming in fear and agony.  She landed on top of them, her claws digging into their backs.  Then another single swipe decapitated them all.

As she was about to begin feeding, PinkScyther felt a presence.  She looked up and saw someone coming.  Forgetting all about eating--she was not hungry, she just enjoyed the salty taste of blood--PinkScyther took off and once again disappeared into the night.

Ann reached the park, panting.  She had run all the way there from her house.  She had no idea why she had felt that she should come here.  She leant on a tree and scanned the area.  Movement caught her eye.  She caught only a fleeting glimpse of a large, flying shape before it disappeared completely.  Ann turned her attention back to the ground, and noticed three shapes.  Heart pounding, she came closer.  There she discovered that they were in fact the bodies of three teenagers.  They had the same slash wounds that all the dead pets had been found with.

"Oh, god," she muttered.

***

PinkScyther hung around the park, wishing impatiently that all the people would go away and let her enjoy her kill.  It had been so much more fun, attacking and killing those three humans.  She wanted more.  But there was little chance because now police, forensic scientists and onlookers were filling the area.  Ann had called the police shortly after she had discovered the bodies.  

Leave, humans.  Leave.  PinkScyther was impatient to return to the bodies.  She was hungry for blood again.  But there didn't seem to be any way she would get to them, because even she could not attack so many humans at once, in broad daylight, without some of them escaping.

_Broad daylight?!_

Oh no.

PinkScyther leapt out of the tree and into the air, flying as fast as she possibly could.  She had hung around too long.  It was daytime.  Quickly she flew above cloud level so that nobody would be able to see her.  When she sensed she was nearing the right place she ducked down again and alighted in Claire's backyard.  There were police in the front yard, talking to Claire's parents.  They must have noticed that she was missing.

Quickly PinkScyther flew in through the window.  Thankfully it had been left open.  The police probably made sure nobody touched anything until they could have a look around and confirm that nobody had broken in.  She morphed back into Claire.

Claire jumped up and immediately ran out of the room.  Oh no, oh no, oh no, now she's gone and done it.  It's happened.  PinkScyther has killed humans, and now she's made my parents think I've gone missing.  I'd better think of some story to get myself outta this one, she thought.

Claire ran down the hall and out the front door.  "Mum!  Dad!"

"Claire!!!" they cried.  Her mother and father ran up to meet her.  All her sisters were there too.  

"Where were you?  What happened?" cried her mother, hugging her and crying.  

"I don't know, I don't know!" replied Claire, also beginning to cry.  "I woke up and I wasn't in my room!  I don't know what happened!"

"It's okay, it's okay, shhh," her mother comforted.  "We're just so glad you're alright!"

***

Eventually, everyone had been convinced that Claire had gone sleepwalking, only this was her worst case of somnambulism ever.  The police had left and her parents had made an appointment to see a doctor as soon as possible.

Now Claire was on the internet, which was unusual because normally anything non-school-related was not good enough reason to waste internet time on.  Claire figured they would probably let her do anything if it would calm her down.  She signed on to MSN Messenger and almost immediately following the "you have 5 new email messages" window was one that said "Ann says: Claire!!!  I need to talk to you RIGHT NOW!!!"

Claire clicked on the message and was added to Ann and Squirtel's conversation.

(Messenger conversation)

Claire:  Hi guys.

Ann:  Hi Claire.

Squirtel:  Hi.

Tentomon:  Hi.

Izzy:  Hello.

Claire:  Izzy?  Long time no see.

Izzy was of course the Digidestined Izzy.  He was Tentomon's companion in the Digital World, and Squirtel's too.  Also, he and Ann were a couple.  They made a pretty good one seeing as Izzy was a psychic too.

Izzy:  Yep.

Ann:  Claire we have to talk to you.

Claire:  You told me.

Squirtel:  So what exactly was it you called us all here for, Ann?

Ann:  Strange things have been happening.  First the pet deaths, then it was farm animals.  And last night, I went into the park and discovered three people had been killed.  All of the animals and humans had the same kind of injuries.

Tentomon:  That's bad.

Izzy:  -_- We gathered that Tentomon.  What kind of injuries were they Ann?

Ann:  Slash marks.  And when I found the bodies, I also saw something flying away.

Izzy:  Wait...  I think I follow you.  

Squirtel:  I don't.

Ann:  I think Claire does.

Squirtel:  What?  Wait a minute, are you really saying what I think you are?

Tentomon:  I think so.

Claire:  OKAY OKAY STOP DANCING AROUND IT!!!!!!  SHE IS!!!!!!

Tentomon, Izzy, Squirtel and Ann were shocked.

Ann:  Calm down Claire.

Claire:  I'm really sorry.  But it's true.  PinkScyther has been killing all those pets and those three people.

Ann:  But why?  Couldn't you stop her, you know, control her?

Claire:  I keep telling you, she's an individual.  She has a mind of her own, just like me.

Ann:  Okay, fine, but why did you keep morphing into her?

Claire:  She did it on her own.  I couldn't stop her, she was too strong.

Ann:  This has been happening for two weeks.  Why didn't you tell us?!

Claire:  Three weeks.  I just...  didn't want to.

Ann:  You didn't want to?!  That's NOT A REASON!

Squirtel:  Okay, now you calm down Ann. 

Ann:  Sorry.  But why the heck didn't you tell us?!

Squirtel:  Ann, think about it.  Sure, Claire loves being annoying but she hates hurting anyone.

Claire:  I just felt so guilty.  And I thought that if I told you, PinkScyther might come and try to kill you guys...

Ann:  Probably, but that's a risk we're willing to take.

Tentomon:  That's what friends do.

Izzy:  We don't mind putting ourselves in danger for our friends.  In fact, I think Ann really likes doing that.

Claire:  :) Thanks guys.  I'm sorry I didn't come to you sooner.  

Ann:  Yeah, I am too.  If you had maybe we could have prevented a few of those deaths.

Claire:  I'm real sorry...  

Squirtel:  Ann, what's past is past.  It's too late to change it now.  Let it go.

Ann:  I know...  sorry.

Claire:  It's okay, you're right anyway.  But what are you guys going to do?  

Tentomon:  Well, how about we remember what we did to make you able to morph into PinkScyther, and see where we went wrong.

Izzy:  I can remember.  Why don't we just do the opposite of it?  That could fix it.

Squirtel:  I know, lets try Tentomon's plan first, and if it's no good we can do Izzy's.

Claire:  Sounds like a plan...  By the way I didn't mean for that to be a joke.

Ann:  -_- Well it sounded like one of yours.

Claire:  Can you guys tell me what we did?  I don't really remember.

Squirtel:  Your memory is as bad as mine.

Claire:  No, it's worse.  I can't remember what I ate for dinner last night.  But anyway, the plan?

Izzy:  Well, I came up with an interesting idea one day.  The Digidestined are humans but we can enter the Digital World.  We're still the same humans when we come out.  So I wondered what would happen if PinkScyther entered the Digi World and then used the portal to get back to the human world.

Claire:  I thought I'd just morph back.

Ann:  Yeah, but instead you stayed PinkScyther.

Claire:  Except PinkScyther was totally not acting like herself.  Something went wrong.  You know what I reckon?

Ann:  What?

Claire:  Remember how I said that thing about life being a video game and me and PinkScyther were in the same save slot?

Ann:  Yes.  Whatever that meant.

Izzy:  It's PinkScyther and I, not me and PinkScyther.

Squirtel:  Shut up about the grammar thing.

Claire:  Anyway, I think what Izzy did was like a cheat.  Only it was one of those cheats that have a label that says "WARNING:  NOT INTENDED FOR NORMAL GAMEPLAY".  So something went wrong.

Tentomon:  You already said that.

Ann:  Tentomon!  You sound like that Bot...

Tentomon:  Do not.

Izzy:  Don't start an argument.  We're onto something.

PinkScyther:  We just did Tentomon's plan.  We figured out what's wrong. 

Ann:  Well, why don't we send PinkScyther into the Digi World again, but this time use the portal to take her back to the Poké World.

Izzy:  Precisely what I was thinking.  Ann, why don't you Teleport Claire over while I set up?

Claire:  There's still a problem!  PinkScyther's not going to co-operate with us.  And she knows the plan too.  Remember she's part of my mind.  And if you bring me over there, she'll make me morph and attack you!

Ann:  I'll have some of my Charizard on standby.  I'm going to the Poké World.  I'll Teleport you there too Claire.

Squirtel:  That means we're coming too.

Ann:  Alright, let's all Teleport together.  We'll meet on New Island, okay?

Claire:  I don't like this idea.  It's not safe.

Ann:  Claire, it's the best we have.  Trust me, it'll work.  Mewtwo and Mew will be there, and they're more than capable of stopping PinkScyther.

Claire:  I just don't want to hurt anyone else...

Squirtel:  It wasn't you hurting anyone.  It was PinkScyther.  So stop feeling guilty.

Tentomon:  We're all Teleporting now.  

Tentomon, Izzy, Squirtel have left the conversation.

Ann has left the conversation.

Claire waited a few seconds, then suddenly she felt herself enveloped in an aura of psychic power.  In a flash of dark blue light she was Teleported to New Island.

Squirtel, Ann, her Pikachu, Tentomon and Izzy were there to meet her.  Izzy went to set up his laptop.  Ann sent a psychic message to Mewtwo and Mew, requesting their presence.

"Are you okay Claire?" asked Squirtel.

Claire had tensed her whole body.  "She's... trying... to... morph... me..." she said through clenched teeth.

Three Charizard landed heavily on the ground next to her.  "I think these guys will keep us safe," said Ann.  Claire stood there, desperately trying to keep from morphing.  

"Hurry... up... Izzy..." she muttered.

"We're ready!" cried Izzy, running back outside.  "Come on Claire, come inside, then morph.  We'll Teleport with you to the Digi World, then we should be able to get you right back safely."

"Okay..." Claire grunted.  She tried to move.  "Oh no..."  Once again the transformation began.  PinkScyther emerged once again.

You can't turn me back into what I was! she cried.  I'm better this way!

"Charizards, attack!" cried Ann.  "Get her inside!"

"CHAAR!" the three Charizard roared.

I crave _blood! replied PinkScyther, and leapt into the air.  The three Charizard followed suit._

"Be careful everyone," warned Izzy.  "I found out PinkScyther's stats.  They're much, much higher than any Pokémon you can think of!"

"How can that be?" asked Ann.

"Remember, one of her parents was genetically modified.  He was much more powerful as well.  And you should remember that along with the pink colour he passed on his power."  Izzy looked at her.  "How did you manage to forget that?"

"Very easily," replied Ann.

In the sky, PinkScyther was dodging the Charizard easily using her speed.  However there _were three of them so it required concentration.  _

"Char!" One of them shot a Fire Blast.  It missed.

"Char!" Another one had a shot but missed also.

You won't hit me.  Why don't you quit now while you're ahead? taunted PinkScyther.  The Charizard replied with more fire.  Still they did not hit.

Soon, I will taste your blood too... muttered PinkScyther, with her evil grin.

"Come on you three, use the strategies I taught you!  A bit of teamwork!" cried Ann from below.  The Charizard nodded.

"Pika pika," encouraged Pikachu.

Strategy?  Don't make me laugh.  You three don't have enough brains between you to beat _me.  The strange glint in her eyes returned.  Whose blood will flow first...?_

The Charizard ignored her, then peeled off suddenly.  PinkScyther kept a close eye on all of them.  They reformed into a triangle around her: one in front and one on each side.  PinkScyther growled, dodging more Fire Blasts.  She put on a sudden burst of speed and slashed at the tail of the Charizard in front of her.  BLOOD!!!

"CHAAAAR!" it cried in pain and surprise.  But in the split second when PinkScyther dropped her guard, the other two Charizard both shot Fire Blasts at her.

"Scyyyyyy!" she cried in pain.  She began to fall.

"Yes!  Way to go!" cried Ann.

PinkScyther caught herself quickly and kept flying, although slightly clumsily now.

"She has high defence, that's for sure," remarked Ann.  "Come on Charizards, a few more hits like that will do it!"

PinkScyther snarled nastily, and then launched into an incredible display of elusive tactics.  She was little more than a blur in the sky.  The three Charizard forgot their formation flying and started trying to hit her with Fire Blasts again, but they missed every time.

"Oh no," moaned Ann.  "Even the Charizard aren't as fast as her in the air."

"If we could just distract her or something..." muttered Tentomon.  "Wait, I know!"  He took off into the air.

"Tentomon, what are you playing at?!" yelled Squirtel.  "Get back here!"

"Hey PinkScyther!" Tentomon called.  She ignored him.  "PinkScyther!  Your mother was a flea!"

This time PinkScyther looked at him.  Her eyes glinted... with red.  She forgot about the Charizard and flew as fast as she could, in a crazed frenzy, toward Tentomon.  "Uh oh," he said.

"Tentomon, you idiot!  Scyther get mad if they see the colour red!" yelled Ann.  "Especially crazy ones!  Izzy, get him to Digivolve!"

"It won't work, he can't Digivolve fast enough!"

"Whoah!"  Tentomon turned around and flew away from PinkScyther, but she was gaining on him.  The Charizard gave chase but they were far behind.  PinkScyther laughed evilly.  She was only a few centimetres from Tentomon... she was close enough to strike!  She raised one blade--and stopped dead.  She glowed with a light blue aura, seeming completely frozen.

"What the...?" said Izzy, incredulously. 

"I came just in time."

"Mewtwo!" cried Ann.  She ran over to meet him.  He stood calmly on air, and lowered his hand.

"It is a good thing I found you."

"Yep, that Disable came in the nick of time alright," said Squirtel.  Tentomon flew down and landed next to them.  He was shaking a little.

"Wow, you saved me!" he laughed.

"It's not funny Tentomon, that was a stupid thing to do!" said Squirtel angrily.  "You crazy bug."  She calmed down, smiled and gave him a hug.

The three Charizard landed heavily, panting.  "Good work you three," said Ann.  "You might want to have a rest now."  They nodded in agreement.

"Lets take PinkScyther inside so that we can send her to the Digi World," said Izzy.  The group went in, Mewtwo floating PinkScyther along, and Izzy picked up his laptop.  "Ready?"

Everyone nodded, then Teleported to the Digi World.  Mewtwo settled down to wait for their return.

In the Digital World, the group looked at PinkScyther.  She didn't look any different.  In fact, she turned and glared at them.  I am the better half of PinkScyther.  You can't change me back to what I was.  Now, it is time for the blood to flow!  She advanced on them slowly and menacingly.

"Oh no!  She's still evil and insane!" cried Ann.  The group backed up until they hit a tree.  For no particular reason, Ann looked up into the tree.  And gasped in astonishment.

"What the...?!"  

Her Pikachu looked too.  His jaw dropped.

"What is it?"  Izzy followed her gaze.  "What?  What's happening?"

Tentomon and Squirtel looked up too.  "I don't believe it..." said Tentomon.  Squirtel just blinked.  PinkScyther looked into the tree as well.  You!

Staring down at them was another PinkScyther.  You, she replied simply.  She jumped out of the tree and stood facing the first PinkScyther.

When they stood next to each other, the others could see the differences between the two.  The second PinkScyther was brighter, but sort of fuzzy, as if she was a ghost, or an image on a badly-tuned TV.  Also her voice was spacey and echoey.  Lastly, her eyes were completely blue.

"Who are you?" asked Ann.

I am the half PinkScyther left behind.  I am the goodness in her.  I am her personality.  I am what makes her real.  I am her _soul._

"Left behind?" said Izzy.  "Do you mean that when we did the experiment, she split into two parts, but one of them was able to reach our world?"

Yes.  I was trapped here.  I am the reality in PinkScyther.  Without me, she can travel anywhere, but she has no soul, because, I _am her soul.   I am her better half.  The PinkScyther you see there is just an empty shell, with  only half of her personality.  That half is bitter, angry, evil, bloodthirsty.  I am the compassion, the happiness, the rationale.  But I need her, and she needs me.  We must be together._

"If that PinkScyther there is evil, why can't we get rid of her and keep only you?" asked Ann.  "That way PinkScyther would be good again."

The second PinkScyther shook her head.  If you kill one of us, the other will die.  We can't exist without each other.  We have to come back together if you ever want the real PinkScyther back.

That will never happen! cried the first PinkScyther.  I may not be able to kill you, without killing myself, but lets make a deal.  We will battle.  If I lose, we will come back together.  If I win, you leave me alone and I can do what I want.  She grinned her evil grin once again.

No.  I will not accept that.

Then I will kill you.  It may kill me, but I don't care.

"Why don't you fight her?" said Ann.  "Everything will go back to normal then."

The second PinkScyther shook her head.  But I won't win.  She is confident; I am shy.  She is cunning; I am open and honest.  She is strong; I am weak.  We are oppostites, and she is the half with the advantage in battle.

"Come on, you've got to fight!  You can't let the other PinkScyther keep up what she's been doing.  She sneaks around and kills, for fun!  How can you let something like that get its way?!"  Ann argued.

Ah, but she is right! sneered the first PinkScyther.  She _is the weak one.  Soon, there will be more blood flowing..._

"Come on PinkScyther, I know you can do it!" said Squirtel.

Alright, replied the second PinkScyther, with determination in her voice.  I will fight.

You are a fool, said the first one.  She drew back one blade and slashed the second PinkScyther.  The second one was knocked flying, a long gash across her side.  Luckily she possessed a tough exoskeleton, so it did not cause too much damage.  Groaning, the second PinkScyther climbed to her feet.  

Had enough yet? jeered the first, before slashing her from the other side.  Again the second PinkScyther was knocked over.

"Come on PinkScyther," said Ann, as the second PinkScyther picked herself up again.  "Your heart isn't in it!"

Heart... that is the key! cried the second PinkScyther.  Of course!  She faced the first.  Dark One, what have you gained by being on your own?

What does it matter? snarled the first PinkScyther, the Dark One.  Are we battling or not?

But I am battling, replied the second PinkScyther.  The Light One battles with her heart.

What is that supposed to mean? said the Dark One.

Answer the question, replied the Light One.  The Dark One stared at her.  You cannot answer me, because you have gained nothing by being without me.  Is that not true?

You aren't battling, replied the Dark One.

I am.

"I don't get it..." said Squirtel.  "What is she doing?"

"I am not sure myself," replied Izzy.

"I know!" cried Tentomon.  "The Light One is trying to get the Dark One to realise the light within herself... that is the key to bringing them back together!"

Dark One, when we were one you were happy.  Are you telling me you are happy now?

I will be, when you stop being annoying and your blood is flowing free!

No you won't.  You never were, no matter how much blood flowed.  When we were together, you had friends.

I don't need friends... any more than I need you!  The Dark One slashed the Light One again.  She fell heavily and coughed.

"I get it!" said Squirtel.

"So do I," said Izzy.

"I do too," said Ann.

"But it's not working well enough," said Tentomon, sounding worried.  "I know!  Hang in there, Light One.  I have an idea!"  Tentomon flew off.

"Tentomon?  Where are you going now?" cried Squirtel. 

She, Izzy and Ann watched the Light One persist in asking her questions, while the Dark One responded with Slash attacks.

"This is stupid.  I'm going to help her!" said Squirtel.

"Pika," volunteered Pikachu.

"Then you have to Digivolve," said Izzy.  Squirtel nodded.

No you don't, said the Dark One.  This battle is between me and the Light One.  If you interfere, the deal is off.

"What?!  You can't do that!" cried Squirtel angrily.

"Pikaaa!"

Take it or leave it, said the Dark One.

The group watched helplessly, as the Dark One stopped bothering to use Slash and instead hit the Light One with the flat of her blades.  Every time she got up again, she would be hit and knocked over again.  She was panting heavily and looked half dead, when they heard a familiar voice.

"I'm ba-ack!" 

"Tentomon!" cried Izzy.  "Where have you been?"

"He came to tell me that PinkScyther was in trouble," came another familiar voice.

"Gabumon!" cried Ann. 

On one of her first trips to the Digi World, PinkScyther had met Gabumon... and fallen head-over-heels in love with him.

"What is going on?" asked Gabumon, staring from the Light One to the Dark One.

"We accidentally seperated PinkScyther from her soul in an experiment," explained Izzy.

"Oh no," he replied.

"Tentomon, you're a genius!" cried Squirtel, and hugged him.

"Light One, get up!" cried Ann, distracting the two halves of PinkScyther from their battle.  The Light One looked up, and saw Gabumon.  

Of course! she cried.  Dark One, this is the one reason why you need me.  When we were one, you had love!

The Dark One stared at Gabumon, and then tears welled up in her eyes.  She said nothing, but nodded the slightest of nods.  Everyone held their breath and watched in amazed silence, as the Dark One and the Light One slowly slid towards each other, and merged in a blaze of white light.  They all had to close their eyes against it, and when they opened them, standing before them was a single pink Scyther.  She was the right colour, not fuzzy, and her eyes were black with a blue tinge, as they used to be.  When she spoke, her voice was not spacey nor was it sneering.

I'm back, she said.  

Gabumon raced over and hugged her tightly.  A tear rolled down PinkScyther's cheek.  I'm back.

THE END

Finished: 3/4/02

*rubs eyes* So tired... ack, it's 11:00pm, no wonder.  That was my longest ever single chapter story... and it was my darkest story yet.  And it's freaking me out.  AND it was the first one I finished in only one day for a long time.  And now I will stop saying "and" and say one more thing: review.  Okay, goodnight all.__


End file.
